Date-watch



Aug. 9, 1960. PAUL-LEON MARMIER 2,948,107

DATE-WATCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1959 Aug. 9, 1960 PAUL-LEON MARMIER 2,948,107

DATE-WATCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 8, 1959 22 25 29 2/20 as 2; as as 34 a0 III/2 I anvil/11m 17/1/11, IIIIIIIIIIIA VIII/II; III/III 'I/IIA III/III Aug. 9, '1960 PAUL-LEON MARMIER 2,948,107

DATE-WATCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 8, 1959 Aug. 9, 1960 PAUL-LEON MARMIER 7 DATE-WATCH Filed May 8, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Unite DATE-WATCH Paul -Leon Marmier, Buren (Aare), Switzerland, assignor to Bin-en Watch Company S.A., Bern, Switzerland This invention relates to date-watches and in particular to watches with a simple calendar work comprising a date indicator normally held at rest by resilient means in well determined positions and driving means actuated by the motion work of the watch so as to move said date indicator once every twenty-four hours from one indicating position to the next one.

The driving means of the date-watches of this type known in the art generally comprise a driving member actuated by a wheel fixed on to the hour Wheel so as to make one revolution in twenty-four hours; said driving member carrying either a pin or afinger to drive the date indicator which is constituted by a ring provided with an inner tootbing.

A first drawback of these watches known in the art resides in the fact that the driving member pushes the date indicator during several hours so that the indications thereof are not readable during all that time. Said known watches have also the drawback that if the hands are reset by moving them counterclockwise, it may occur that the date indicator will similarly be driven backward. Eventually, to reset the date indicator either after a month with less than thirty-one days or after the watch has been at rest during some days, the hands have to be moved several times around the dial unless the watch is provided with a corrector comprising a pusher and a lever acting on the date indicator. However, besides the fact that such a col-rector increases the price of the watch, it has also thedrawback that its pusher may jeopardize the tightness of the watch case. Moreover, if such a corrector is inadvertently actuated at the moment at which its driving member engages the toothing of the date indicator this driving member can be injured seriously.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a date-watch in which the drawbacks mentioned above are avoided.

A further object of the invention consists in providing a date-watch with a driving member running speedy to actuate the date indicator. 7

Still further objects of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description.

One embodiment of the date-watch according to this invention is represented diagrammatically and by way of example in the annexed drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1' is a plane view of said embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section along line. Il-II of Fig. 1 on a greater scale;

Fig. 3 is a partial plane view on a greater scale showing some members of Fig. l in another working position;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectionalview along line IV-IV of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a partial plane view on a greater scale of some, members of Fig. 1 .in another working position;

Fig. 6 is a plane view similar to that of Fig. 3 but in another working position, and

States Patent 0 Patented Aug. 9, 1960 Fig. 7 is a plane view similar to those of Figs. 3 and 6 slowing still another working position.

The watch represented in the drawings comprises a circular movement 1 of usual type having a great wheel in the center. The shaft 2 of this wheel protrudes from the dial side of the base-plate 3 of the movement 1 (Fig. 4). A cannon-pinion 4 carrying a minute hand (not shown) is set with friction, as usual, on to said protruding portion of shaft 2 and an hour wheel 5 (carrying an hour hand not shown) pivots around the cannonpinion 4 in the usual manner. A stem 13 (Fig. 1) permits of setting the hands by means of a clutch wheel 14, a setting pinion l5 and a minute gear comprising a minute'wheel 16 meshing with a toothing 17 of the cannon-pinion 4, and a minute pinion 18 meshing with the hour 'Wl'lfifil 5. The movement 1 has furthermore its fourth wheel located in the center, the shaft 41 of this wheel extending within the hollow shaft 2 of the center wheel.

The watch represented in the drawings comprises, like the watches with a simple calendar work known in the art, a date indicator constituted by a ring 6 concentric to the movement 1 and said ring carries the numerals 8 going from one to thirty-one and an inner tooth 9 opposite each of said numerals. The ring 6 is mounted for rotation around a bearing surface 36 of a plate 45 with some play in a transverse direction with respect to the i watch movement. The plate 45 serves at the same time to retain the ring 6 axially in place on the movement 1 and it is fixed by means of a couple of screws .6 on to the base plate 3 of the movement 1.

The ring 6 is driven step by step once every twentyfour hours. With the exception of the moments at which the ring 6 is driven, it is held at rest in well determined indicating positions by resilient means com prising a lever 10 and a spring 11 holding said lever engaged' in the inner toothing of ring 6. The form of the nose '12 of this lever in and the position of the latter are arranged so that when the nose 12 is fully engaged between two teeth 9 of ring 6 under the action of spring 11 as shown in Fig. 1, one numeral 8 of ring 6 appears exactly in the center of a window (not shown) of the watch dial. Besides its action of holding the nose 12 of lever 10 fully engaged between two teeth 9 of ring 6, the spring 11 also maintains against the bearing surface 36 of plate 45 the top faces of the teeth 9 diametrically opposite to those between which the nose '12 is engaged, so that a space 3'7, due to the transverse play of ring 6, appears between the bearing surface 36 and the top faces of the teeth 9 of ring 6, which are situated in the vicinity of those between which the nose 12 is engaged.

As in the usual watches with a simple calendar work known in the art, the movements of the date indicator ring 6 are controlled by a driving mechanism actuated by the motion work of the watch. This driving mechanism is actuated here by the hour Wheel 5 itself and by a wheel 19 smaller than the hour wheel and set with force fit thereonto. Said driving mechanism is located within ring 6 and it comprises movable elements mounted for rotation around a pin 20 fixed to the baseplate 3 (Fig. 4). One of these movable elements is constituted by a pinion 21 meshing with the hour wheel 5. A disc 22 isfi-Xed to the pinion 21 by riveting as shown at 23. Between its toothing and the disc 22, the pinion 2.1 is provided with a cylindrical bearing surface 24 and a further movable element of the driving mechanism is freely mounted thereon for rotation. This second movable element comprises a toothed wheel 25 meshing with the wheel 19 and an eccentric 26 fixed to a hub portion 28 of wheel 25 by riveting as shown at 27. Said driving mechanism eventually comprises a ring 29 and a pawl 30. Ring 29 freely surrounds the eccentric 26 in such a manner that it may rotate around the latter. That ring 29 is actually held in place around the eccentric 26 by the side faces both of the wheel 25 and the disc 22. A part circular opening 31 is provided in ring 29 so that the walls of said opening serve as hearing for the pawl 30. This pawl comprises corresponding bearing surfaces 32 so that it may freely rock within opening 31 of ring 29 between the two extreme positions represented in Figs. 3 and 6, respectively. The pawl 30 comprises furthermore a finger 33 adapted for cooperation with the teeth 9 of ring 6, and it carries an axial pin 34 engaged in a radial slot 35 of the disc 22.

The driving mechanism described above functions as follows.

As in the watches known in the art with a simple calendar work, the wheel 25 has twice as many teeth as the wheel 19. The wheel 25 makes thus together with the eccentric 26 one revolution in twenty-four hours around the pin 20. The pinion 21 has three times fewer teeth than the hour wheel 5. It makes thus six revolutions in twenty-four hours around the pin 20. The disc 22, which is riveted on to a shoulder of the pinion 21, also makes six revolutions in twenty-four hours around the pin 20 and it drives thus the pawl 30 and the ring 29 around the eccentric 26 by means of pin 34 which is engaged in the slot 35. Since the pinion 21 and the wheel 25 are driven in the same direction by the wheels 5 and 19, the pawl 30 makes five revolutions a day around the eccentric 26, i.e. the pawl 30 passes five times in twenty-four hours over the top, or high point of the eccentric 26.

These passages of pawl 30 over the top of the eccentric 26 occur in positions of the latter which are regularly spaced from one another around pin 20 through angles of 72. These positions will be called hereinafter coincidences of the pawl 30 and the eccentric 26. In these five coincidences the pawl 3%) is thus at the greatest distance from the pin 20, i.e. from the axis of rotation of the eccentric 26.

It follows from the preceding description that said coincidences of pawl 30 and eccentric 26 always occur in the same positions with respect to the movement 1. In other words these coincidences are determined once forever as soon as the pinion 21 and the wheel 25 are set in meshing relation with the corresponding toothings of wheels 5 and 19.

To drive the ring 6 correctly and to ensure the function of the calendar work described, the pinion 21 and the wheel 25 must be engaged in the toothings of wheels 5 and 19 so that one of said coincidences occurs in the plane defined by the axis of rotation of the eccentric 26 and the axis of the movement 1, said plane being briefly called plane of actuation hereinafter. As a consequence of its angular speed, the pawl 30 passes six times a day in the immediate vicinity of the toothing 9 of ring 6, through the plane of actuation. The distance between the finger 33 of pawl 30 and the axis of the watch movement is, however, not the same at every passage of the pawl 30 through the plane of actuation. During the coincidence occurring in the plane of actuation, the finger 33 of pawl 30 is at a distance of the axis of the movement 1 which is greater than at the moment of the five other passages of this pawl through the plane of actuation in the vicinity of the teeth 9. The differences between those distances from finger 33 to the axis of movement 1 when the pawl 30 passes near the teeth of ring 6 through the plane of actuation are sufficient in order that, on the one hand, this finger 33 enters the path of the inner toothing of ring 6 when it is just coinciding with the eccentric 26, and, on the other hand, this finger 33 does not touch the teeth 9 of ring 6 during the five said other passages of pawl 30 through the plane of actuation.

Mounting the movable elements pivoted around the pin 20 in the correct positions with respect to one another is ensured by the slot 35 and the bores 38, 39, 40 provided in the eccentric 26, in the wheel 25 and in the baseplate 3 of the movement 1, respectively. With reference to the plane of actuation the bore 40 of the base plate defines together with the pin 20 a plane which forms an angle of 72 with said plane of actuation. Moreover, the bores 38 and 39 and the slot 35 of disc 22 are provided so that the pawl 30 and the eccentric 26 will be in a position of coincidence when the bores 40, 38 and 39, as well as the slot 35, are themselves coinciding with one another as shown in Fig. 2. The slot 35 and the bores 38-40 thus ensure mounting the elements pivoting around pin 20 in a very easy manner. It suffices to introduce a pointed tool into the slot 35 and the bores 38, 39 and 40 at the moment at which the said movable elements are set in place on pin 20. Mounting the said movable elements in the position of coincidence described above is easier than for instance in the position of coincidence situated in the planepf actuation. In the latter position the finger 33 of pawl 30 would of course interfere with a tooth 9 of ring 6 and said pawl would have to be rocked and said ring to be moved transversely with respect to the movement 1 against the action of spring 11, to mount the said movable elements on pin 20 in the position represented in Fig. 6, whereas in the mounting position described above the two operationsrocking the pawl and shifting the ring-are avoided.

' Since the coincidences of pawl 30 and eccentric 26 always occur in the same positions as long as the pinion 2 and the wheel 25 remain in meshing relation with the wheels 5 and 19, respectively, adjusting one of said posi tions of coincidence automatically determines the five other positions of coincidence. Moreover, since said positions are spaced from one another by 72 around pin 20, mounting the said movable elements on pin 20 in the manner described above, with the help of slot 35, bores 38, 39 and 40, has as consequence that one of said positions of coincidence will actually occur in the plane of actuation. Said mounting position is represented in Figs. 1 and 2. It appears from the preceding description that said position occurs exactly once every twenty-four hours.

Fig. 3 shows the position of the movable elements which are pivoted around the pin 20 forty-eight minutes before the position of coincidence shown in Figs. 1 and 2. At that moment, the pawl 30 lies in the plane of actuation and it still has to move counterclockwise through an angle of 72 until it reaches the position represented in Figs. 1 and 2. In the position of Fig. 3 the finger 33 of pawl 30 cannot possibly come in contact with a tooth 9 of ring 6. The elements pivoted around the pin 20 come in the position represented in Fig. 5 some minutes after the position of coincidence of pawl 30 and eccentric 26 which is situated in the plane of actuation. The position of coincidence shown in Fig. 5 occurs four hours forty-eight minutes before that Which is represented in Figs. 1 and 2, this time being that which the eccentric 26 needs to make one fifth of a revolution, Fig. 5 also shows that finger 33 of pawl 30 is held by the eccentric 26 at such a distance from the center of the movement 1 that it enters the path of the teeth of the date indicator ring 6, comes in contact with a tooth 9 of said ring, and drives the latter in the direction of arrow A, so that the next numeral 8 will appear in the dial window provided for the date indication.

To move one step forward so as to let the next numeral 8 appear in said dial Window, the indicator ring 6 does not require to be driven all the way through by the finger 33. As soon as the end of nose 12 has passed over the top face of a tooth 9, the inclined face of this nose suddenly urges the ring 6 further, under the action of spring 11, like in the watches with a simple calendar work known in the art.

Fig. 7 shows in full lines the position of ring 6 before it is driven by the finger 33 of pawl 30 and in dot-anddash lines the position of this ring 6 at the moment at which the nose 12 passes over the top of a tooth .9, position from which it is the lever 10 which drives the ring 6 under the action of spring 11. The angle a (comprised between 11 and 12), which is defined between the two positions of the. pawl 30 corresponding to said positions of the ring 6, gives an idea of the time during which the pawl 30 has to drive the ring 6 to ensure its passage from one date to the next one in the watch described. Since the pawl 30 makes one complete revolution in four hours, it moves through an angle of o 12 in 360 =8 minutes This is thus the time required to pass from one date to the next one in the watch described.

Fig. 5 shows that the curved edge 42 of pawl 30 is bearing against the edge of eccentric 26, when this pawl drives the ring 6, the eccentric 26 serving thus as support to the pawl. During that time, the pin 34 is in contact with the side wall 35a of slot 35, which drives the pawl 30 and the ring 29 around the eccentric 26.

After the passage described of finger 33 through the plane of actuation, the pawl 30 rotates. further around the eccentric 26. It passes again through said plane on the same side of pin 20 four hours afterwards (Fig. 3). During that period, the eccentric 26 has rotated through an angle of 60 around pin 20. As indicated above, that movement of the eccentric causes the finger 33 to pass outside the path of the teeth of ring 6 which thus remains at rest.

Before driving ring 6 again, the pawl 30 still passes four times through the plane of actuation on the same side of pin 20. At the moment of these four passages, the eccentric 26 is spaced through angles of 120, 180, 240 and 300, respectively, from the position represented in Fig. 5. The last of said four positions of eccentric 26 is symmetrical to that of Fig. 3 with respect to the plane of actuation. It follows that the finger 33 passes all the four times outside the path of the teeth 9 of ring 6 without actuating the latter.

The mechanism described enables setting the Watch hands counterclockwise at every moment without any risk of damaging the driving mechanism of the date indicator, and without moving the latter in an undesired manner. The only moment at which an undesired backward motion of the date indicator could occur is when the top of the eccentric 26 is near the plane of actuation (position of Fig. 5) and when the pawl 30 has already passed over the top of the eccentric 26 either during the normal run of the watch or after a previous setting operation of the watch hands. If the watch hands are driven counterclockwise from such a position, so as to move the pawl 30 back over the top of the eccentric 26, this operation does, however, not cause a backward movement of ring 6. When moved backward as supposed, the pawl 30 comes once with its back edge 43 in contact with a tooth 9 of ring 6. Since ring 6 is held in place by the nose 12 under the action of spring 11, the said tooth 9 rocks the pawl 30 counterclockwise (Fig. 6) until its curved edge 44 butts against the edge of eccentric 26. At that moment the finger 33 is still engaged some hundredths of mm. (i.e. 0.0001" to 0.0002") in the path of the teeth 9 of ring 6. If the watch hands are further driven counterclockwise the finger 33 does still not cause the ring 6 to move backward. It merely pushes rings 6 aside, in a transverse direction with respect to the movement 1, against the action of spring 11. Such a transverse motion of ring 6 is possible because of its free play around the bearing surface 36 of plate 45. This play 37 actually enables a transverse displacement of ring 6 to such an extent that finger 33 may pass under the tooth 9 which is just in the plane of actuation. Fig. 6 shows the driving elements of the date indicator at the moment at which the finger 33' passes underthe said tooth 9. The. position of ring 6 represented in dot-and-dash lines is that which it normally occupies under the action of spring 11. Since some resistance; is opposed to the pawl 30, when its finger 33 passes under the tooth 9 of ring 6, the pin 34 will be in contact with the side wall 35b of slot 35, which drives the pawl 30 clockwise around the eccentric 26.

- The function just described of the calendar mechanism represented in the drawings enables setting the date indicator in an extremely simple and quick manner (Fig. 7).

To set the date indicator, the watch hands need only be moved alternately forward and backward in the vicinity of their position in which the finger 33 of pawl 30 actuates the date indicator ring 6. A clockwise motion of the hands moves the ring 6 one step forward, whereas a subsequent counterclockwise motion of the hands brings the finger 33 behind the next tooth 9 of ring 6 without moving the latter. It follows that every couple of said reciprocal movements of the watch hands moves the date indicator ring 6 one step forward. As explained hereinafter the amplitudes of these reciprocal movements of the watch hands are so small that they can be carried out without leaving the winding and hand setting crown of the watch fixed to the stem '13.

With regards the clockwise motions of the watch hands, they need only be prosecuted until the nose 12 drives the ring 6 under the action of spring 11, while producing an audible click. At that moment the driving elements pivoted around pin 20 occupy the position represented in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 7.

As to the counterclockwise movements of the watch hands they need only be prosecuted until the finger 33 has passed under a tooth 9 of ring 6. This passage also produces an audible click at the moment at which the spring 11 brings the ring 6 in the position represented in dot-andd-ash lines in Fig. 6. If the watch hands are then actuated forward again, the top part of finger 33 comes in contact with the top part of the tooth 9 of ring 6 under which the finger 33has just passed, since the ring 6 has come back in the meantime in its normal position represented in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 6 under the action of spring 11. That tooth 9 rocks thus the pawl 30 from the position represented in Fi g. 6 into that which is represented in full lines in Fig. 7, the curved edge 42 of pawl 30 then bearing against the eccentric edge. 'In Fig. 7 the pawl 30 has already been represented in the rocked position although it has just passed under the tooth 9 of ring 6 lying in the plane of actuation. The two positions represented in full and dot-and-dash lines, respectively, in Fig. 7 are the extreme positions of pawl 30 with respect to pin 20, between which it suffices to move the pawl in order to move the ring 6 quickly. The angle [3 (comprised between 20 and 21) defined by these two extreme positions of pawl 30 gives an idea of the corresponding displacements of the hands. To move through an angle of 21 the pawl 240 X 21 30 needs 14 minutes That shows that the reciprocal movements of the Watch hands can be effected without leaving the winding and hand setting crown as stated above. The date indicator of the watch described can thus be corrected very easily and, moreover, very quickly. Thus, supposing that the Watch has run down and is at rest, and that it should be started at a moment at which the date indicated is for instance one day in advance on the actual date, resetting the date indicator can nevertheless be performed very quickly, although the ring 6 must be moved thirty steps forward to be set in the correct position.

To change the date at midnight as usually, it suflices to set the driving elements pivoted on pin 20 in the posi- 7 tions represented in Figs. 1 and 2 when the watch hands indicate four hours forty-eight minutes A.M.

If the number of revolutions of pawl 30 around pin 20 must be great enough to ensure, on the one hand, a quick change from one date indication to the next one during the normal run of the watch, and, on the other hand,

setting the date indicator easily, it is not absolutely necessary that the eccentric 26 makes just one revolution in twenty-four hours. To obtain a driving mechanism which functions in a similar manner as that which has been described hereabove, it suffices that the eccentric around which the pawl driving the date indicator rotates, makes, as well as said pawl, a whole number of revolutions in twenty-four hours, the two said numbers of revolutions being, however, different and having no common divisor greater than 1. This condition has as consequence that no coincidence of said pawl and said eccentric will occur more than once in twentyfour hours.

With an eccentric and a pawl which make approximately the same number of revolutions in twenty-four hours (for instance six and seven revolutions, respectively), the gears driving these two elements have approximately the same diameter and the driven gears carrying these two elements have themselves relatively small diameters. These driven gears can thus be located at the periphery of the movement in a base plate part which is thick enough to receive them. In this manner the said gears do not take very much place in the plane of the base plate and they do not require any noticeable increase of the height of the watch movement.

Moreover, these two elements (eccentric and driving pawl) must not necessarily rotate in the same direction, they could just as well be driven one by the minute wheel and the other one by the hour wheel. This arrangement also simplies a simplification of the driving mechanism in that it avoids the wheel 19 engaged with force fit on the hour Wheel 5. The date indicator ring and the driving means thereof could then be placed deeper than usually in the known watches with a simple calendar work with respect to the other usual members located between the base plate and the watch dial.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it must be understood that various changes in the shape, sizes and arrangement of parts could be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing the advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. A date-watch comprising in combination date indicating means, resilient means normally holding said date indicating means in predetermined indicating positions, and driving means to move said indicating means one step forward every twenty-four hours, said driving means comprising a rotary eccentric making a whole number of revolutions in twenty-four hours and a driving member mounted for rotation around said eccentric and making also a whole number of revolutions in twenty-four ,hours, the number of revolutions of said driving member in twenty-four hours being greater than one and having no common divisor greater than one with the number of revolutions of said eccentric in twenty-four hours.

2. In a date-watch movement, the combination of an hour wheel mounted for rotation in the center of the movement and driven thereby, a driving wheel coaxially fixed on to said hour wheel, a date indicating ring pro vided with an inner toothing and mounted for rotation on the movement coaxially thereto, resilient means normally holding said date indicating ring in predetermined indicating positions, and a driving mechanism to move said date indicating ring one step forward every twentyfour hours, said driving mechanism being located within said date indicating ring and comprising a rotary eccentric actuated by said driving Wheel so as to make a whole number of revolutions in twenty-four hours, and a finger mounted for rotation around said eccentric and actuated by said hour wheel so as to make also a whole number of revolutions in twenty-four hours around said eccentric with respect to said movement, the said number of revolutions of said finger being greater than one and having no common divisor greater than one with the said number of revolutions of said eccentric, said finger being exactly once in twenty-four hours on the top of said eccentric when it passes through the actuation plane defined by the axis of the movement and the axis of rotation of said eccentric on the side of the latter opposed to said hour wheel, the driving mechanism being arranged so that said finger comes in contact with said inner toothing and moves said date indicating ring one step forward when it passes through said plane of actuation while being on the top of said eccentric.

3. The combination of claim 2, in which the angular speeds both of said eccentric and of said finger are in such a ratio that said finger does not come in contact with said inner toothing of the date indicating ring, when .it passes through said plane of actuation without being simultaneously on the top of said eccentric.

4. In the combination of claim 2, marks being provided on said movement, said eccentric and a member carrying said finger, to permit the mounting of said driving mechanism in a position in which said finger does not interfere with said inner toothing of said date indicating ring.

5. In the combination of claim 2, said driving mechanism further comprising a gear meshing with said hour wheel, a disc fixed to said gear and provided with a radial slot, a toothed wheel fixed to said eccentric coaxia1- 1y to said gear and meshing with said driving wheel, and a driving member carrying said finger and a projection extending in said radial slot.

6. In the combination of claim 5, said driving member comprising a ring surrounding said eccentric and a pawl pivoted on said ring and provided with said finger.

7. In the combination of claim 6, said ring having a part circular opening and said pawl having a part circular shape corresponding to said circular opening of said ring, said pawl being freely located within said opening of said ring.

No references cited. 

